Of ‘mahila’, Muslims, Musahars and Maoists in Gaya

IMAMGANJ (Gaya): Three ‘M’s — Mahila, Musahars and Muslims – besides Yadavs turned out in large numbers at the polling booths in Bodh Gaya, Barachatti, Sherghati and Imamganj areas on Friday. Polling came to an end at 3pm in seven and at 4pm in two of the 10 constituencies in the district, otherwise known as a Red zone.
Political observers say high Musahar turnout is good for NDA because former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is their top community leader.Musahars were earlier known mostly for its ploughing and rat-catching skills. But the relatively high Muslims and Yadavs turnout is the cause of worry for the BJP-led alliance which includes Manjhi’s HAM-S. Women, aggressively wooed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, remain crucial this assembly election.
But for odd incidents like EVM snags in the initial hours and poll boycott at a couple of polling stations in Atari over development issue, polling passed off peacefully in the ten assembly constituencies of the district spread over four subdivisions, including the Maoist infested Sherghati.
However, Left-wing extremists kept the cops on their toes in Imamganj where Manjhi locked horns with assembly Speaker Uday Narain Chaudhary in what is regarded as the most interesting electoral battle this election. But heavy deployment of security forces and patrolling by mounted police in the vulnerable areas instilled confidence in the voters.
Earlier, the district police issued an advisory to Chaudhary and cited official inputs about high-level risk for him. The advisory, besides cautioning Chaudhary against possible Naxalite attack, also asked him to keep his movement plans secret even from his close associates and inform the local police well in advance about his tour plan. It also advised Chaudhary to move out only after getting the right signals from the police officers.
One highly explosive improvised explosive device (IED) weighing about 10kg was detected under Magra police station area of the district. City SP Ravi Ranjan said the bomb was effectively defused. More reports of IEDs having been planted in the area have been received, he said.
Panic buttons were pressed soon after the detection of the IED. This correspondent was also advised by the city SP not to proceed beyond Magra on a four-wheeler to avoid any IED explosion. Central forces also gave up their SUVs and patrolled the area on bikes fearing possible Maoist attack.
Senior police officers, including Gaya SSP Manu Maharaaj and Magadh Range DIG, were busy monitoring the return of EVMs and poll parties as Maoists in the past had mostly targeted poll personnel and cops on their return journey from the booths.